On the eve of the day in October 2002 when 111 nonconforming billboards were supposed to be removed from Myrtle Beach thoroughfares, the two billboard companies sued to overturn the city billboard ordinance. Since then, the city of Myrtle Beach has spent a bundle on legal fees to defend the ordinance, adopted in 1995.

In the end, only 18 of the nonconforming billboards will be taken down, per the lawsuit settlement the city and remaining plaintiff reached last week. Was this result worth the expense of fighting the lawsuit?

Absolutely. The council's gutsy decision to take on Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc.'s Coastal Advertising and national billboard behemoth ClearChannel continues to reverberate here and across the state.

B&C soon realized that its hard-line stance against the billboard ordinance could endanger city approval of the signs at then-under-construction Coastal Grand Myrtle Beach mall. It settled with the city in 2003, agreeing to abide by the result of the ClearChannel suit. ClearChannel ultimately agreed not only to take down the 18 signs but also to repair and improve 27 others. These changes will improve the city's looks.

This David vs. Goliath battle, meanwhile, shook up the S.C. outdoor advertising industry. Its minions in Columbia last week goaded the S.C. House into passing a bill that would render counties and municipalities virtually powerless to remove billboards. We'll know soon whether the Senate has the guts to resist the industry's assault on local control. (Grand Strand Sens. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, and Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, sponsor the Senate version of the bill.)

Regardless, City Council members, City Attorney Tom Ellenburg and City Manager Tom Leath deserve hearty attaboys for taking on the perpetrators of visual blight - and coming away with something to show for their efforts.